A Friendship
by ElenAtalantie
Summary: Featuring a playground, two little ninja girls, and two boys who are quite, quite alike. AU.


When/if I ever become a regular poster here on ff-net, the most common author's note you will see is "I don't know, man. I just don't know."

So then I present: A Friendship.

* * *

It starts because Saturday afternoons are a good day for taking children to the park. Neji is escorting Hanabi, fulfilling a request from Hinata to get the younger girl out of the house. Hanabi is not happy about being taken to the park to play with the babies, being seven and far too old to do such silly things as play. Neji, however, doesn't care. Hinata has asked it of him, and he will do as Hinata asks. So he walks to the park with Hanabi's hand in his, and leans up against the fence while she goes off to not-play. He watches idly, wishing for a CD player.

There are nine other children at the park. Four boys, five girls. Three dads, seven moms, one high-school brother. Neji wonders if the other boy is being paid for babysitting. A little boy runs by in a Batman costume. Neji wonders who the little boy is here with, and if they know what a safety hazard that cape is. He sees from the corner of his eye Hanabi kicking at the sand on the other side of the playground, just as lost as he is to be at the park. A preschool girl falls and scrapes her elbow. Her mother is ready with antibacterial spray and a neon bandaid. Neji wonders if he used to demand kisses for his injuries when he was little.

"Hey, Neji!" Hanabi waves from across the playground, exaggerating enough to catch his attention from a block away. Once he turns his head to face her, she points just as dramatically to the swings, indicating for him to meet her there. Once there, she wiggles backwards into a swing and peers back at him expectantly. Neji steps forward, heeding the unspoken command, and begins to push. Hanabi, to her very mature seven-year-old credit, does not giggle when the momentum turns her upside down at the top of the swing's arc. She does close her eyes and smile the tiniest bit, but Neji pretends not to see, and he certainly does not smile a little in response the next time her back connects with his palms.

_Creak, creak, whoosh, creak, _the swingset goes. Neji can smell the sun baking the sand. _Creak, creak, whoosh, creak._ The frame rocks a little each time Hanabi's swing changes direction. Neji wonders about the safety of rocking swingsets.

The little girl at the other end of the swings leaps off her swing. She lands on her feet, but still crouches down and puts one hand on the ground before springing up and racing away. "I'm a ninja!" she screams as she runs. The little girl completes a circuit of the playground and comes back to stand next to Hanabi's swing.

"Kiku, don't stand so close," her brother calls. Kiku turns and sticks her tongue out. Hanabi notices the little girl and commands Neji to stop the swing. Again, he does.

Kiku beams. "I'm Kiku!"

Hanabi leans forward and frowns. "I know." She frowns harder, but Kiku keeps beaming. Finally: "I'm Hanabi."

Kiku bounces on the balls of her feet. "Wanna be ninjas?"

Hanabi makes a big deal of sighing as she stands up unenthusiastically. "Neji," she says with a roll of her eyes, "I guess I'm gonna go play ninjas with this little girl."

"Oh, all right," Neji says like he's surprised. He's amused by the emphasis Hanabi puts on 'little girl,' but not particularly surprised by that either. He watches them for a moment before returning to lean against the fence again. Kiku's brother comes to lean against the fence too, folding his arms and crossing one ankle over the other lazily. For a long time, neither one says anything. The sun is hot for so early in the summer.

"My name's Neji," Neji finally says.

"Sasuke."

Neji nods acknowledgement before turning his eyes up to the sky. Mares' tails are drifting, 26,000 feet up.

"Are you Hanabi's brother?"

"Cousin. And you're--"

"Brother."

Sasuke also studies the clouds momentarily. The girl on the monkey bars tries to jump down, but is too scared of the woodchips. Her shoe has fallen off.

"I hate flip-flops." Neji says abruptly.

Sasuke smirks and bobs his head. "Me too."

Twelve minutes later, Kiku wants ice cream. Sasuke pushes off the wall, digs in his pocket for cash, and heads off after the little girl. He nods once at Neji as a goodbye. Hanabi is immediately at Neji's elbow, asking to go home. They do.

But that's how it starts.


End file.
